The Safety and Licensing Committee is holding a special meeting 06/04/2025 at 6PM prior to the 7PM Common Council meeting.
They will be taking up the alcohol license renewal application for Tandem Wine and Beer which the Police Department is requesting be denied.
In April of this year, the Common Council approved a request to change the alcohol license agent from George Koenig to his wife Karter Thompson. When the change of agent application came before the Safety and Licensing Committee, concerns were raised that Mr. Koenig had been recently convicted of driving with a prohibited alcohol content level (3rd offense) and also had a charge of possession of cocaine read into the record. It was noted during the committee meeting that he had been incarcerated. Eventually, the committee voted to recommend the change of agent application be denied not because of Mr. Koenig’s criminal history or incarceration but due to issues with the way the application was filled out. Those issues ended up being corrected leading to the Common Council to approve the change. At the time, Assistant City Attorney Zak Buruin told the committee that Mr. Koenig’s legal issues were not a matter of concern for the application to change the agent for Tandem’s alcohol license although it could become relevant when it was time to renew the alcohol license for the establishment because, even if he wasn’t the agent of record, he would still be the owner of the business.
Now the license is up for renewal and the Police Department is requesting that it be denied. Per the memo from Police Lieutenant Ben Goodin, “This recommendation is made based upon the fact that the owner of the LLC, George Koenig, is ineligible for licensure based upon arrest and / or conviction record under §125.04(5)(a)1., and the fact that he has been a habitual law offender under §125.04(5). Because he is a member of the LLC seeking the license, the LLC is also ineligible for licensure pursuant to §125.04(5)(b).” Lieutenant Goodin points Mr. Koenigs two convictions for operating while intoxicated and his one conviction for operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration as being substantially related to his work owning a bar and reason to not renew the license.
Assistant City Attorney Buruin submitted a memo supportive of the non-renewal stating, “State statute prohibits the issuance of a retail alcohol license to a LLC unless all of the officers, directors, members, and managers meet the eligibility criteria related to criminal and unlawful behavior. Mr. George Koenig remains a member of the limited liability company (LLC) applying for license renewal, as he is the owner. Mr. Koenig has thrice been convicted of intoxicated driving offenses in Wisconsin, with the most recent conviction date occurring on March 10, 2025. As intoxicated driving offenses are substantially related to the activity for which a license is (re)sought, Mr. Koenig’s prohibited arrest record, conviction record, and history of habitual law violation leaves him, and his LLC ineligible to renew the retail alcohol licenses applied for. This ineligibility is subject to the opportunity to demonstrate evidence of rehabilitation.”
[Under state statute, this is a situation where Mr. Koenig has the right to provide evidence of rehabilitation in an attempt to maintain the business’ license, but it’s hard to imagine what sort of evidence would be available given that his most recent conviction happened just a few months ago.]
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1310538&GUID=ECF18EE8-8A5F-41FC-A73A-4B66C825B7FD
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